Why Many Theaters Are Refusing To Show ‘The Last Jedi’

WyattNovember 3, 2017November 3rd, 2017

The upcoming Star Wars sequel “The Last Jedi” is guaranteed to be the one of the highest grossing films of the year. To put it simply, it’s the direct follow-up to the biggest domestic box office hit in history, which means Disney is holding some serious power.

They seem to be using that power to their advantage, and screwing a lot of theaters along the way. According to The Wall Street Journal, most movie studios receive about 50-55% of all ticket sales from each theater their film is shown in. But because Disney is sitting on a gold mine of a movie, they are raising it to an unprecedented 65%. On top of that they are requiring all theaters to show the film for a minimum of four weeks on their largest screen, and if any theater is found to break the rules, Disney will take an additional 5%. That would end up being 70% of all ticket sales for the first four weeks, which for some theaters, means it’s probably not worth to them to even show the film.

In a time when movie theaters are already struggling to get by, a move like this feels like a pretty big blow to the little guy. But not to worry, since that really cool theater near your house that shows Blade Runner at midnight, has probably already turned into an AMC. So you’re good to go for Star Wars.